Gifted to Serve

Dr. T. L. Lowery (1929–2016) was born in Eastman, Georgia, and was converted to Christ in 1943. He served as a pastor and evangelist until 1969, preaching in massive tent crusades nationwide—his tent seated ten thousand—and in numerous foreign countries. His evangelism ministry was marked by testimonies of thousands of converts, reports of frequent divine healings, and unnumbered people filled with the Holy Spirit. Dr. Lowery served as pastor of two Church of God congregations, North Cleveland, Tennessee (1969–1974) and National, Washington, D. C. (1981–1996), where he led both churches in significant growth and major building programs. Part of his pastoral legacy was an emphasis on ministries to all strata of society. His pastoral leadership helped awaken the consciousness of the denomination to personal evangelism, lay ministry, and local church outreach. In both pastorates, he provided housing for the elderly. In Washington, he founded an outstanding private Christian school, a Bible school, and a seminary. Dr. Lowery may be best known as a denominational leader, serving sixteen years on the Church of God Executive Committee and thirty-four years on the Executive Council. He also acted interdenominationally on the boards of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE), National Religious Broadcasters (NRB), and Pentecostal Charismatic Churches of North America (PCCNA). He was the author or coauthor of over 85 books, most of which have been translated into numerous languages. He also edited three magazines and wrote many teaching booklets and articles. In addition to an earned Ph. D. degree, he was recognized by two institutions with honorary doctorates. Dr. Lowery’s passion in personal ministry and in mentorship activities was the active preservation of apostolic ministry in the Church of God and the wider Pentecostal-charismatic community. He had numerous spiritual sons and daughters who were saved, called into ministry, and mentored under his spiritual leadership. Dr. Lowery served more than seventy years in ministry, and the T. L. Lowery Global Foundation, Cleveland, TN, continues his legacy.